Congress centres opened to take asylum seekers

Two congress centres are being converted into emergency accommodation for the growing stream of asylum seekers entering the Netherlands.

The IJsselhallen in Zwolle and the Zeelandhallen in Goes are being fitted out as reception centres on a ‘short-term basis’ to cope with the ‘an unusual peak in the number of people seeking asylum’, the Dutch refugee agency COA said.

The move comes following a greater than expected increase in the number of asylum seekers, the NRC reports. Between March and May, the number rose from 800 to 2,300 a month, most of them from Eritrea and Syria.

The COA is currently negotiating with over 70 councils on creating more permanent accommodation for asylum seekers. It expects this will lead to more reception centres ‘later this year or next year’.